Arrests at Freakfest declined once again as the party continues to become tamer in comparison to earlier years.
The event ended Saturday night with a total of 43 citations issued to partygoers, down from last year's total of 47. Most were for underage drinking or possessing or consuming alcohol on the street, according to Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain.
""Each year there seems to be fewer arrests and a better-behaved crowd in terms of no disturbances or physical confrontations,"" Madison Police Department Lt. Brian Ackeret said. ""It's become less disruptive.""
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the event was a ""smashing success"" from a public safety point of view.
With over a 200 crowd control personnel stationed on State Street, Ackeret said a large part of the success of the event and the safety of UW-Madison students has to do with controlling access to State Street.
""It allows us to control Freakfest much better, particularly the ending of the event,"" Ackeret said.
Third year UW-Madison student Micah Bergwert said she felt the excessive police presence was unnecessary and has created ""an atmosphere of fear,"" turning people away from attending the event.
Bergwert said she feels the city should handle Freakfest the same way the Mifflin Street Block Party is organized.
""[Madison] should do Freakfest the way they've done Mifflin,"" Bergwert said. ""They should take what they've learned from Mifflin Street and apply it here. No corporate sponsors, everyone working together.""
Brian LaFleur, owner of Jack's Shoes on State Street, said he believes Halloween has changed for the better.
""There's no question Freakfest has become tamer,"" LaFleur said. ""I was here during all of the riots. Back in the day you couldn't walk down the street at 10 p.m., it would be wall to wall people.""
Along with citations, the paid attendance of the event was also down. Organizers sold 44,000 tickets to the 2009 event, and only sold around 35,000 this year.
Verveer said the smaller attendance was the only downside of the event. He said there might be several factors contributing to this including the lack of a home Wisconsin football game or people not being excited about the musical acts scheduled for the event.
Alternative rock band OK Go headlined this year's event. Verveer said OK Go ended their set around 15 minutes early, but this enabled crews to begin cleaning the street early.
Fourth year graduate student Malika Punzo said she felt the city ""could have done a better job picking the band.""
However, Punzo said she thought the Freakfest bands were ""getting better every year.""
Allison Stone made the trip from Grand Rapids, Mich., to attend Freakfest for the third time with her family.
""We came just for this, to eat on State Street and see the costumes,"" Stone said, ""it's fun.""
Stone said she felt very confident in the event's organization when it came to the safety of the event.
Although many people have deemed the event a success, Bergwert said she hopes Freakfest will continue to improve.
""If you reached out to the student community and you reached out to interested people downtown, you could create a phenomenal event that is one of a kind in the nation,"" Bergwert said. ""They have the opportunity here to do something really cool.""
